DS Review: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

by John Kershaw on October 26, 2008 at 12:35 pm

The world of Sonic is a world of fast platforming and loop-de-loops. So how well does it fare when inserted into the RPG mould? Can BioWare break the current trend of Sonic games and make something good? Hit the jump for the full review.

RPGs tend to be where you find the legendary stories. Their format allows for complex character development as well as epic quests, able to keep you on edge for dozens, even hundreds of hours. It’s something BioWare seems to have missed when developing Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. It may well be that the game is simply targeted towards a younger audience, or perhaps the source material wasn’t the best for narrative, but either way I was a little disappointed in the lack of depth.

Eggman has been defeated, Knuckles got kidnapped and there are some new enemies called The Mauraders causing trouble all across the land by stealing the Chaos Emeralds. That’s all you need to know about the story. Things do keep moving steadily, and you will find a few pleasant and inoffensive plot twists, but nothing truly ground breaking or engrossing.

Most of the game is played through the overworld, entering your standard RPG arena for combat. One annoyance with the game that is instantly apparent is the use of the stylus. You have no options on how to control your characters. While moving around the overworld, the d-pad does nothing, and you have to click where you want to go. Why you couldn’t have used both the stylus and d-pad is beyond me, and lead to a rather uncomfortable first few hours until I got used to it.

Each area provides you with some key objectives, as well as several (often diverse) side quests. Each rewards you with an item or two, as well as the accompanying experience. Some quests take the form of puzzles, which require people standing in specific places, or the use of a specific party member’s special ability.

Whilst attempting any mission, your objectives are always clearly labeled and the map has helpful stars indicating where you need to go. Often these locations can only be reached after passing an obstacle needing a specific skill. Your party consists of a maximum of four characters from an ever increasing group. Large gaps, for example, can be flown over by Tails, and boxes can be smashed by Amy’s hammer.

All these actions are accomplished through a rather mundane clicking of an icon which appears when you are next to an obstacle. It’s the same method you use to interact with people and other objects, unless they are proximity activated, such as the enemies.

Thankfully missing are random encounters, replaced with often avoidable over world creatures. Once in combat, the game takes a classic RPG turn-based approach. Characters take turns attacking and you are given the choice to attack a specific target, defend, or use a POW move. POW moves use up valuable POW Points (PP) and range in what effect they have. Some are powerful moves, while others identify key weaknesses or distract an enemy.

Each POW move uses a series of onscreen, stylus-controlled quick time events very similar to the ones found in Elite Beat Agents. Your accuracy determines just how effective an attack is. A similar system is also used when the enemy is attempting a special attack. If you hit all the right places at just the right time, you can cause an opponents attack to completely miss.

These quick time events do help break up the combat, which can become rather drawn out in places. Often times the combat feels tedious as amount of damage done can be negligible some rounds. Especially early on, you can find your characters missing a surprisingly large number of moves. It’s not uncommon for an entire round to pass, and to have 75% of your attacks miss.

The combat is further extended by the enemy’s annoying habit of occasionally fleeing. This pauses the battle and creates a side scrolling chase sequence. Each of your party members have their own lane and as the chase progresses, things are placed in the way which you have to jump over by clicking on your character. Failure to click in time results in you losing ground on the enemy. If you hit too many objects, the enemies get away. Catching up again simply drops you back in the combat, with an extra round of attacks on your behalf.

For the most part enemies will be easily (if monotonously) defeated, but occasionally some rather odd balancing issues crop up. Some minibosses will either miss you completely, or are able to KO you within a single round. When you’re used to most enemies doing almost negligible damage, it can seem rather frustrating and can result in several annoying reattempts.

The musical score sounds like classic Sonic, which is greatly appreciated, and the sound effects are passable. The game looks good too– there are a few pre-rendered scenes which add a nice touch, and character models are on par with the quality of the DS. Sprites are nicely drawn, and environments are pleasantly varied. Though if any of that last paragraph changed your opinion on Sonic Chronicles, you probably don’t play a lot of RPGs.

If you’re not an RPG player, but do like Sonic, then this game will likely appeal to you and I would recommend buying it. However, if you are looking for an RPG experience to sink hundreds of hours into, this game isn’t for you. A weak story and lack of depth in combat will definitely hurt the experience for veteran RPG players.

Overall, I would have to say it is an average RPG, aimed at those more a fan of Sonic than the genre. Sonic Chronicles is worth the money if you like blue hedgehogs, but worth a rent at best otherwise.